Remarks on Tragedy in Haiti

MEMORANDUM

Our hearts go out to the people of Haiti in this time of suffering and grief. The pictures and stories coming in from Port-au-Prince paint a picture of incredible devastation.

I know you and your campuses are already working in many ways to respond to this crisis. According to the Center for International Disaster Information (www.cidi.org) and UN personnel on site in Port-au-Prince, monetary contributions to established relief agencies are the most useful immediate response to the destruction. We have collected a few of the sites that seem to be the most useful and have listed those below for your convenience.

At the same time, we want to think beyond the immediate relief efforts to see what the AASCU community might do to assist with reconstruction. We have talked with Don Betz, President of Northeastern State University (Okla.) and chair of the AASCU Committee on International Education. He will be contacting members of the Committee to begin a planning process. If you have ideas or suggestions for assistance, we welcome your thoughts.

For some of our campuses, this was not simply an epic disaster but also a personal tragedy. Some of our AASCU institutions have students, faculty, or staff with relatives in Haiti. Please assure them that we stand ready to be of assistance in any way possible.

Islamic Society of North America:https://www.instantreg.com/isnadonations/donation.jspx?id=6

Lutheran World Relief:http://www.lwr.org/giving/

Wyclef Jean has already raised over $1 million for victims in Haiti with a text-based campaign in which cell phone users send "Tele" to 501501 for an automatic $5 donation.

The Red Cross also has developed a texting plan for donations: Text "HAITI" to "90999" and a donation of $10 will be given automatically to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts, charged to your cell phone bill http://www.redcross.org/en/”

Background information on the nation of Haiti is available from the CIA World Factbook at www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ha.html

The State Department provides advice to U.S. citizens on conditions within Haiti. This can be read at http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1134.html